July 12, 2012

MLB approves Rangers' contract with Jairo Beras, suspends player

Major League Baseball has approved the $4.5 million contract the Rangers have with Dominican prospect Jairo Beras, but Beras has been suspended for a year for misrepresenting his age when he registered as a prospect.

A conference call with general manager Jon Daniels is scheduled for this afternoon.

The ruling ends a 4 1/2-month investigation by MLB after the Rangers signed Beras, who was believed to be 16 by most teams in baseball. The Rangers, though, had uncovered evidence that showed he is 17 and was eligible to sign a contract before the new international signing rules went into effect July 2.

A source interpreted the MLB ruling as an indication that the Rangers were within the rules when they signed Beras, who was also representing his correct age when he signed Feb. 29. However, MLB believes that Beras or his representatives in the Dominican weren't truthful when they registered him as a 16-year-old with a 1995 birthdate for a Dominican showcase in February and other events.

The Rangers located Beras' father, a former Nicaraguan baseball player who now lives in Richardson. The father had documentation that proved he was in the Dominican Republic and fathered Beras in 1994, and later submitted to a DNA test that confirmed he was Beras' father.

Beras can continue to work out that the Rangers' academy in the Dominican Republic and can take place in scrimmages, but he can't be part of any team in any league. The suspension lasts through July 1, 2013, but in essence Beras will serve a 16-month suspension because of the time lost to the investigation.